Miss Universe is misguided

I hope fellow CNow blogger Ashley Bond comments on this. Things could get interesting...

love the article. hated all the fake contestants. i watched it hoping to get an idea of the pageant's purpose. it's so degrading, and the beautiful girls could not possibly get any dumber.

one of the questions was "...if your beauty has helped you in any way?" Duh! she's in a beauty pageant based on NOTHING but physical beauty (or how pretty her plastic surgeon can make her).

Jen, I think you losing the pageant was a huge compliment because they probably realized you're too smart to be in it anyways :) when all they need are dumb bimbos. but it made for awesome photos :D

p.s. did you notice that the former Miss Universe (who was boob job-free when she won) had "upgraded" herself too? I really don't see the point after she already WON!

i wonder why there isn't a MR. Universe, oh that's right because only women can be treated as beautiful "objects". ugh

Miss Jen...

With comments like you have made about pageants, there's no wonder you were/are a "Loser". Bitterness is so ugly and obviously you have never gotten over the loss...I'm sure your attitude helped you down the road to being a Loser!!

Jen, you're a successful, real woman and definitely not a "loser." This is a blog, in which a person is entitled to their opinion. (Thank God this is America.) When their opinion is based on experience, that counts for something in my book.

JW- You are amazzzing and you call it like it is that is why I love you as a person and your work!! It sounds as if Miss Mikko might be part redneck and quite uneducated in the important areas in life, poor thing, I feel so sorry for her! Her big hair must be coverin her southern eyes from ever seeing what is true, ignorance loves bliss, but miss mikko is probably addicted to aerosol hair spray fumes and needs to go to beauty pageant rehab. I do have to say it is so pathetically embarrassing and such a joke that America has these meaningless and superficial pageants for aerosol can bimbos- so degrading for women- however maybe if America had them for men it might not be so bad!

Dear Miss Mikko,

You should never capitalize a word unless it's a proper name or the first word in a sentence. It might be wise to take the time you spend on your appearance and use it to further your education. That's how you'll become a real winner.

Love, Susan

Jen- I would like to comment on the post left by MissMikko. After reading what was written I get the feeling she is nothing more than one of those self absorbed people that thinks the sun rises and sets on them. It strikes me as sad the way some people seem to have to rip others down just to make themselves appear more important. You know that anyone who has taken more than 5 minutes to get to know you would not call you a loser. You are a successful woman with a great deal of talent and drive. You are a person that other admire and respect. Please don't let the comments of a misguided young lady from Texas bother you. She knows not of what she speaks. Keep you the great work. I look forward to reading your pieces.

Holy Bitterness! Oh my!! I'm not sure which was thicker: the usage of ellipses or the constant assumption that every girl who enters pageants has fake boobs and no brain. How about the assumption that every football player is an idiot (you know, sans the Florida State grad Myron Rolle who was a Rhodes scholar in 2008)? This article screams of the opinion of a woman who would love pageants if she had won, but since that is not the case, well, here we are. Pageant contestants aren't self-absorbed, they just have different goals and motivators in their lives. Could the stereotyping of this article and the keyboard-bullies leaving comments be any more obvious? And these comments-- the comments border on absurd and presumptuous. From L.A.? Must have fake boobs. Screen name "teentexas"? Must have been a Miss Teen Texas and have big hair blocking your view of "what is true." And as far as the comment above by dhseaholm, how dare you say it saddens you that "some people rip others down" when that is the main theme of this article and ONLY theme of these comments. In closing, beauty pageants aren't degrading. A girl on stage having drunk guys throw $1 bills and making cat calls is degrading. The very idea that these pageants are all about fake boobs and no brains is one of the most ignorant and flat-out foolish things I have heard. Sure, there are girls who fit the mold. But do I assume every Asian guy I see knows karate? Do I assume every Irish person I see is a bumbling drunk? Nah, but then again, I'm not the one writing a blog. At least not for Chicago Now... (NOTE: Proper use of ellipses-- ZING!)

Thanks for the reply, Author! The point I was making is this: Are the pageants based around looks? Sure. But so what? No one is forcing these people to be in it-- it is a person's own aspiration to win a contest at that level, not the will of their parents ala that garbage TV show "Toddlers & Tiaras." That said, why not aspire to be in shape and look great? The number of girls who look great without effort are few and far between. To have physiques like those seen in the4 pageants, there is much more put in time and effort wise than laying on a table and going under the knife. I'll say it like this: I can take a bunch of steroids, but that doesn't mean I can hit a baseball. These girls can get implants, but they also bust their butts to get the rest of their bodies in order as well. To suggest that a mere pretty face and boob job wins, that is just false and ill-spoken. Hell, Carrie Prejean taught us that-- sure, she was beautiful and the State of California bought her implants (ridiculous!), but her "marriage is for opposites" speech turned her toward losers row.

As far as non-enhance winners, my girlfriend has a friend named Shanon who won the Miss Illinois two years ago. She is a captain on the Chicago Luvabulls and is 100% just her, no adjustments, just hard work and making it happen with what she was given.

I understand the point of blogs-- it's pretty much opening up the world to one big group of editorial and opinion columns, the majority of which are used for evil and to tear down other people. I do it in my blog, too, so I am NOT pointing fingers, believe me. The reason this struck a chord with me is because as "disgusting" as it is to value women for how they look in a swimsuit or whatever nonsense claim is made (I mean really, the viewership of these pageants is not exactly rivaling the Super Bowl), what's more disgusting is the opposite direction. Saying to a person "it's okay to eat that fettucine alfredo in a bread bowl-- thanks Domino's!" is even more disgusting. I am NOT saying we all should be perfect, but aspiring to be what is becoming a typical American (the most obese country in the world and verging on becoming the laziest) is even worse, more because of health reasons than anything aesthetic. I could go on and on, but hell, this is your blog not mine. ha ha

Mikko and anyone else who calls you a loser can suck it.

"I wonder- in this advanced world where we now have a black President- how can we still revere these God awful pageants?"

Jen, don't buy into the propaganda that by having a black man as President, we've reached Nirvana. Having a black president doesn't mean we're advanced. It just means the White Guilt pushers did their job well.

I found the responses fanscinating. I can only base my opions of pageants on my friends who are or were models who have dealt with pageants, photo shoots, catwalks, and other aspects of the industry. There is a reason they are "former" models. They said the attention, glamour, eating, and workouts were fun until they became work/requirements. Each of them used it as means to end taking the money they earned and applying it towards getting that BA or masters. Ultimately, why I find them so beautiful is because as serious as they took their time in the biz of pageants, they knew this would not define them forever! One male model friend said he was so disgusted by how his female counterparts were degraded, he let the biz to start a foundation with with blind/visually impaired because he said "The blind will judge me on my character and personality not on my looks." Each one of my friends talks about the burnout factor because there is such a demand on perfection. Not only are these young girls and women driven to eating disorders, they are emotionally destroyed by the constant high expectations. One can't help but be mentally dead within a few years. If we as a society want more of that then keep up the great work pageant organizers! Otherwise, do away with all of it before we destroy the women of the world.

I found the responses fanscinating. I can only base my opions of pageants on my friends who are or were models who have dealt with pageants, photo shoots, catwalks, and other aspects of the industry. There is a reason they are "former" models. They said the attention, glamour, eating, and workouts were fun until they became work/requirements. Each of them used it as means to end taking the money they earned and applying it towards getting that BA or masters. Ultimately, why I find them so beautiful is because as serious as they took their time in the biz of pageants, they knew this would not define them forever! One male model friend said he was so disgusted by how his female counterparts were degraded, he let the biz to start a foundation with with blind/visually impaired because he said "The blind will judge me on my character and personality not on my looks." Each one of my friends talks about the burnout factor because there is such a demand on perfection. Not only are these young girls and women driven to eating disorders, they are emotionally destroyed by the constant high expectations. One can't help but be mentally dead within a few years. If we as a society want more of that then keep up the great work pageant organizers! Otherwise, do away with all of it before we destroy the women of the world.

Hello. As a fellow blogger I felt the need to respond to your post.

1)I find it hard to believe that someone who says these beauty pageants focus so much on fake things that they make other people feel ugly, would say, “that half the girls entered in the pageant looked like they hadn’t stepped on a treadmill”. What did you mean by that?
Because the way I took was that you don’t think these pageants should focus solely on looks. However, you just ridiculed individuals who entered a pageant because you didn’t think that they were fit enough to step on stage in a bathing suit.

2)Your article makes it seem like you despise plastic surgery. Yet you mention in your comments that you would have a tummy tuck, which is an aesthetic plastic surgery. So are you saying it is okay for you to have plastic surgery because it makes you feel better, but it is not okay for other women?

3)You also said that you’re embarrassed that you were in this pageant. Either way it makes no difference to me if you are or aren’t. But you did enter a pageant, (And I have to ask, you didn’t know there was no talent portion before you entered?) Why did you ultimately enter? You said your agent convinced you, but you ultimately made the decision. You said you made it because you were out of work and thought that it might help your career. If you had won would you still feel that it didn’t help you? We shall never know.

I do not believe that it is an insult to your intelligence for having entered this pageant. I think people’s opinions about pageants have more to do with their character than intelligence. You have chosen to go on your blog, tell people about your experience and ridicule everything about it. Instead of just admitting what you learned from it, good or bad, and how it has shaped the woman you are today.

From my experience it is not pageants that are degrading to women. It is other women who feel the need to ridicule their own sex for the decisions they make and how they choose to live their lives.

Jen,
You summed it up very well in one of your earlier comments. It's the unachievable (at least not naturally) image they instill in young girls' and boys' minds. The contestants in Miss Universe were all "perfect" but not "real" and I have a problem with our society's idea of beauty when it's not natural...

Michael,
Being in great shape is one thing but there's no diet or workout that will make women grow bigger boobs. Unless I missed that exercise, please enlighten us...

This debate is tired, been done a thousand times for many many years. I hope your next blog has some oringinal thought to it and not some rehashed old news. Now if Pam Anderson was wearing your cheap $300 dress, she might have won. You could try out for Mrs Illinois, but I recommend working on a talent other than creative writing. The next dress you buy should accentuate your phine phat ass and purchase 2 pairs of Spannx for your giggly gut and for the bathing suit, get a one piece with ruffles. Please don't eat the Ruffles!
Og

Hi Jen. I enjoyed reading your blog. Question - if the Miss Illinois pageant that you competed in was neither part of the Miss America or Miss USA system, then what system was it? The only legit "Miss Illinois" pageant I know is the one that is a preliminary to Miss America. The pageant that you joined, was it even legit? Did the organizers infringe the copyrights and trademark of the real Miss Illinois (for Miss America)??? Just wondering.

Hi Jen. It the pageant that you joined was a prelim to Miss USA, then shouldn't the title be "Miss Illinois USA"??? "Miss Illinois" is a Miss America trademark. It is important that people know the difference between the two systems, since many can't tell the difference between the two. I don't think the Miss America Organization would be pleased that a pageant organization is infringing on MAO's trademark.